Billie
Dove – Dubbed the American Beauty
In her silent heyday, this ravishing and highly photogenic star,
known for her voluptuous femininity on the silent screen, rivaled that of Mary Pickford, Marion Davies and Clara Bow in
popularity. She retired after only a few years into the talking picture era,
however, and is not as well-remembered in today's film circles as the
aforementioned.
Billie Dove was born Lillian Bohny on May 14, 1903 (several sources list 1900), to Swiss parents Charles and Bertha Bohny who emigrated to New York City before she was born. Educated in private schools in Manhattan, she was already singled out as quite a beauty by her early teens. By 15 and 16 she was helping to support the family by working as both a photographer's and artist's model. It is said that the renowned poster painter/illustrator James Montgomery Flagg sketched her during this period. Although she could neither sing nor dance all that well, this stunning beauty was subsequently hired by Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. to appear in his famous Follies.
Billie Dove was born Lillian Bohny on May 14, 1903 (several sources list 1900), to Swiss parents Charles and Bertha Bohny who emigrated to New York City before she was born. Educated in private schools in Manhattan, she was already singled out as quite a beauty by her early teens. By 15 and 16 she was helping to support the family by working as both a photographer's and artist's model. It is said that the renowned poster painter/illustrator James Montgomery Flagg sketched her during this period. Although she could neither sing nor dance all that well, this stunning beauty was subsequently hired by Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. to appear in his famous Follies.
A burgeoning affair between Dove and Ziegfeld prompted
Ziegfeld's wife Billie Burke
[she played the good witch in the Wizard of Oz] to arrange work for the
young starlet in Hollywood films. She made her feature debut in George M. Cohan's Get-Rich-Quick
Wallingford (1921), based on the 1910 Broadway play; the cameras instantly
fell in love with the beautiful newcomer. She was immediately put into a
starring role in only her second picture, the backstage romantic drama At the Stage Door (1921),
the story of a chorus girl and her sister (also a chorine) who compete for the
affections of a wealthy patron. From there Billie went on to appear opposite
some of Hollywood's most popular leading men--from glossy, dramatic stars such
as John Gilbert and Warner Baxter to
sturdy cowboy idols Tom Mix and Hoot Gibson-
Top stardom came while she was swept up in the arms of the
dashing Fairbanks as the starry-eyed princess who is rescued by The Black Pirate
(1926) in the classic silent adventure. Billie was the first actress to receive
a color screen test via this pirate yarn. Lovingly dubbed "The American
Beauty" after appearing in the movie of the same title, The American Beauty
(1927)--in which she played a social-climbing hat check girl--her acting talent
was considered modest.
Divorced from Willat in 1929, Billie was still at the peak of her popularity with the advent of sound. The multi-millionaire eccentric and (at that time) budding producer Howard Hughes became an obsessed admirer, which resulted in an all-consuming three-year affair. Hughes, who tried to take over and control her career, actually proposed to the star and they were briefly engaged. She abruptly ended the relationship, however, when she was unable to handle his quirkiness and long, unexplained absences.
In Blondie of the Follies (1932), the Marion Davies starrer, Dove was dismayed when her third-billed role was "trimmed" and "reshaped" at the urging of Davies' highly influential paramour William Randolph Hearst (who happened to own Cosmopolitan Productions, which made the picture). This was to be her last film; she retired from the screen shortly thereafter. By 1933 she had remarried and focused on having a family
"Where
are you?" she moaned.
"I'm at the pub." I replied.
She said, "I think the baby's coming!"
I said, "Well, he won't get in. He's underage."
Cynthia Ann
"Cindy" Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model.
Her 30 years of success at modeling made her an international celebrity that
has led to roles in television and film, and to work as a spokesperson. In
1995, Forbes
magazine named her the highest paid model on the planet. Cindy is one of the original five "Supermodels".
She was named No. 3 on VH1's
40 Hottest Hotties of the 90s and was named one of the "100 Hottest
Women of All-Time" by Men's Health. Crawford is known for her trademark mole
just above her lip, and has appeared on hundreds of magazine covers throughout
her career. She still looks great!
Things you’ll
find useful [share with your mates]
Seventy percent of women rate clean-shaven
men as sexy…
·
Shaving in the
shower [which I do] wastes an average of 10-30 gallons of water.
·
Shaving daily
with a wet razor exfoliates the beard area of the face, loosening and removing
the top layer skin cells, which is believed to help the skin retain its
vitality and youthful appearance [probably why I look so young]!
·
According to
archeologists, men shaved their faces as far back as the Stone Age-20,000 years
ago. Prehistoric men used clam shells,
shark teeth, flint and knives.
·
Ancient Egyptians
shaved their faces and heads so the enemy had less to grab during hand-to-hand
combat…gold & copper razors in their tombs dating back to the 4th
Century BC have been discovered.
·
A typical razor
lasts about 10 shaves [I get double that with a disposable using just bar soap]
·
The longest
beard, according to the Guinness Book of Records, measures
17.5 feet in length and was presented to the Smithsonian Inst. In 1967.
Some mighty odd channels to view on Nameless TV
What
the Yuck
Contact me - Bruce ‘the Retro Guy!
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